Tag Archives: Politics

No “Stand Your Ground” For U.S. Embassies

The news this weekend is all about the United States closing 22 embassies in the Middle East. Two things are clear. Make that three.

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alQaeda is on the run. But not in the direction we’ve been led to believe.

The lesson learned from 9/11/2012 seems to be, instead of defending our interests, you retreat. They win. We lose.

The third thing is, which seems to be lost in all the hoopla, is the way the administration is handling this incident that is yet to obama_surrenderhappen. An incident that, arguably, is best dealt with in private, not in public. They have signaled to the enemy that they’ve already won. Without a single shot being fired. At the same time, they’ve told the enemy that their electronic communications were intercepted, losing our intel on the two terrorist leaders. It clearly demonstrates that this administration has absolutely no will to take the fight to this enemy. Even when they deliver it to us. And is willing to sacrifice national security for political cover.

That the administration would weaken their hand with all this pre-emptive transparency to the enemy, seems more than a little politically motivated when we still get no transparency on what happened nearly a year ago in Benghazi.

Only The Names Have Changed In Dept. of Labor

Labor Secretary Perez is hitting the ground running with a new and improved Department of Labor 2014-2018 Strategic Plan Outreach. I think it would be a mistake to think that President Obama picked Thomas E. Perez for Labor Secretary for the purposes of helping to turn this sorry economic situation around.

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On the contrary, through the smoke and mirrors of his bullet points, the message is clear. The government has no intention of taking its boot off business’s throat. “Ensuring” access to opportunities that are already there means more government intervention.

Ensure access to opportunity . . .

  • to earn a fair day’s pay
  • for workers and employers to compete on a level playing field
  • to retire with dignity and peace of mind
  • opportunity for people to work in a safe and healthy environment
  • and with the full protection of our anti-discrimination laws.

The names have changed, but the agenda? Not so much. A higher federally mandated minimum wage that won’t be a minimum wage, but a “living wage.” Undermining the employer/employee relationship through government intervention. Increasing labor union membership, bailing out labor union underfunded pensions. And other than putting more pressure on the coal industry, working in a safe and healthy environment isn’t an opportunity. It’s not only to the employer’s benefit to have a safe work environment, but is required. The antidiscrimination issue is code for lowering or eliminating job qualification standards, forcing employers to hire more people to make up for the loss in productivity.

To his credit though, Sec. Perez says he will allow you to take part in a live web chat starting Monday Aug. 5 at 2 pm. Make sure you are heard. And let’s see how sincere he really is in his method of finding common ground via “collaboration, consensus-building and pragmatic problem-solving.”

Link: Department of Labor 2014-2018 Strategic Plan Outreach

A Miracle Hits Washington

In response to Republicans and some Democrats wanting to de-fund the unaffordable Affordable Care Act, the President flippantly remarks that “they haven’t an alternative”

Well what do you know. The “no alternative” just picked up another co-sponsor. Rep. Tom Rice (R-NC7) signed on as a co-sponsor to H.R.2300, AKA the Empowering Patients First Act of 2013.

It’s some kind of miracle that a bill that, according to the Community Organizer In Chief (President Obama), doesn’t exist can also have co-sponsors.

You, and President Obama, can follow the bill HERE.

Link: H.R. 2300: Empowering Patients First Act of 2013

No Significant Hiring This Year, Or Next

President Barack Obama gave a major economic policy speech last week. We’ve heard it all before, and before. Here’s what he didn’t say, and probably won’t ever say: Businesses will not begin new, significant hiring this year or in 2014.

Real unemployment will get worse and, the 7.6% unemployment rate from the BLS is bogus, manipulated math. The real unemployment rate is more like 17.2%.

The closely followed, single BLS unemployment metric, now 7.6%, fails to reflect the actual state of things: Unemployment and underemployment is, according to Gallup, 17.2%. That means more than 20 million Americans are unemployed or grossly underemployed. And here’s a much more significant metric: only 44.7% of adults 18 years and older in the U.S. are in a full-time job, according to Gallup’s Payroll to Population (P2P) metric.

Link: Jim Clifton, Gallup Chairman and CEO

Pipeline Safety? Not So Much

While the exploding oil train in Canada where 47 people died is still fresh in your memory, you may be surprised to learn that there were plans to make accidents like that preventable. The Obama administration has delayed by nearly a year a plan to boost safety standards for the type of rail car involved.You would also be surprised to learn that the government agency responsible is called the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

A proposed rule to beef up rail-car safety was initially scheduled to be put in place last October, but it has been delayed until late September at the earliest. A final rule isn’t expected until next year.

The administration has a good track record of delaying and denying approval of the XL pipeline over safety and environmental issues, all of which have been satisfactorily addressed. Pipelines don’t crash and burn. Rail cars do. So why all the foot-dragging? Maybe because Warren Buffet, one of the largest campaign donors to the Democratic Party, owns BNSF Railway. A railroad company that transports the same oil that the XL pipeline would. Isn’t it obvious where this administration’s priorities are?

Link: Oil Train Safety Rule Delayed By 1 Year

Reality v Pres. Obama’s Speeches

Keep in mind that Senator Obama, and now President Obama, for five years now, has been focused like a laser beam on rebuilding the economy. Really? I guess it depends on the meaning of “rebuilding.” His speech on the economy last week, was the same speech he has read since day one. More spending, more taxing the rich, infrastructure, middle class, green energy, education, investments, bla bla bla.

Five years later, here’s a progress report (minus $7 trillion in more debt) from an unlikely source. The Associated Press.

Four out of 5 U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives, a sign of deteriorating economic security and an elusive American dream. {emphasis added}

… the widening gap between rich and poor, and the loss of good-paying manufacturing jobs …

Faced with the reality that picking victims by race is not working, maybe trying something that would help “everyone” (as in post-racial?) is a wiser approach?

As nonwhites approach a numerical majority in the U.S., (a reality not missed by Democrats, in so many ways) one question is how public programs to lift the disadvantaged should be best focused – on the affirmative action that historically has tried to eliminate the racial barriers seen as the major impediment to economic equality, or simply on improving socioeconomic status for all, regardless of race.

Hardship is particularly growing among whites, based on several measures. Pessimism among that racial group about their families’ economic futures has climbed to the highest point since at least 1987. In the most recent AP-GfK poll, 63 percent of whites called the economy “poor.”

I’m not the only one who sees our American ship heading for the rocks. Most would think this to be bad news. But not our President. He’s getting closer to what he calls leveling the playing field. It is clear, according to the AP, that poverty and pessimism about our country’s future is shared by everyone, regardless of race, equally.

Obama is closing the gap in poverty among the races. Not by lifting those at the bottom, but by lowering those higher up.

While racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to live in poverty, race disparities in the poverty rate have narrowed substantially since the 1970s.

I don’t blame or hold President Obama solely responsible for this disaster. It is the result of something larger than himself. It is Liberalism in general, the ideology, that fails us. Just like it fails in every other country it is tried.

The consequence of spreading the wealth only results in one thing. Spreading the misery.

Link: Exclusive: Signs of declining economic security

Missouri Gives Feds The Finger Over Gun Control

Probably goes nowhere when it gets to the Supreme Court. If it gets that far. But I like their spunk.obama_holder

The legislation would make it a misdemeanor for federal agents to attempt to enforce any federal gun regulations that “infringe on the people’s right to keep and bear arms.” The same criminal charges would apply to journalists who publish any identifying information about gun owners. The charge would be punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Link: Democrats to aid Republicans on Missouri gun bill

Climb To The Moon On National Debt

Just another of those phony scandals the Republicans are pushing to cause gridlock. That must be what President Obama is thinking, since he is intent on doing, and planning on doing, nothing but increasing it.

  • The national debt is at its highest since the end of the second world war
  • The figure equates to every man, woman and child owing $55,091 each
  • Of the $5.1 trillion owned by foreign governments – nearly half is owned by China and Japan
  • The national debt has increased more than $6 trillion since President Obama took office – the largest increase under any president

The country’s national debt is now so high, over $16.7 trillion, that if the figure was converted into $5 bills it would stretch almost to the moon.

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Link: One giant debt for mankind: U.S. national deficit would reach almost to the moon if piled high in 5 dollar bills | Mail Online.

Pro-Death, Choice, At Its Worst, Best

This would qualify for the M.R.I.O.T.D. award if it weren’t the product of years of inculcation of the populace by liberal politicians, media, and the so-called “pro-choice” lobby. Watch “Carlos Danger” gather signatures to legalize retroactive abortions.

The sad thing is, these are college students from George Mason University (GMU), a not so shabby university. You’re looking at our future.

Link: WATCH: Students sign petition to legalize abortion after childbirth